


the wounds we keep

by masqurade



Series: Of Everything We Are & Of Everything We Are Becoming [1]
Category: Bravely Default (Video Game) & Related Fandoms, Bravely Second
Genre: F/M, and some friendship with tiz and edea, lets be real, this is just suffer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-08 15:19:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6860521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masqurade/pseuds/masqurade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tiz catches her, one night, flipping through the diary.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the wounds we keep

**Author's Note:**

> This fic contains a massive spoiler from **Bravely Default** but **not** Bravely Second. If you have finished Bravely Default, you will be fine.
> 
> This turned real sad real fast and idk how to feel i am just so butt hurt.

 Tiz catches her, one night, flipping through the diary.

 Nothing registers on his face at first. It isn’t until Edea visibly flinches and freezes all action does he look down at the book in her hands. _Really_ look at it.

 “Oh,” he says, like it’s the most natural thing to see her flipping through dumb memories, opening old wounds.

 Edea doesn’t reply. Instead, she tries, in vain, to shove the book out of sight under her leg. The blood rushes to her face, making her have to rub her cheeks with the palm of her hands to calm herself down. Tiz says nothing else. He stares, then silently yanks off the hood of his black mage’s cloak to reveal his face.

 His slumber has served him well. Although it has only been two years, Tiz looks like he hasn’t aged a day. His hair, however, is in a desperate need of a trim. It’s a wild and tangled flop on his head, covering half his face. How he can see through such a travesty, Edea has no idea.

 He takes a seat beside her on the ground. Edea watches his eyes roam the area of the tent. Yew and Magnolia are already asleep. They are alone with just a single lamp overhead to illuminate their faces.

 The silence begins to irk her, so Edea clears her throat.

 “He has a lot of things written down about Florem…” Edea trails off for a moment, not knowing what else to say. It is true that checking information about the town is what she had initially dug the book out for, but she spent the last two hours simply flipping through random pages. “I got sidetracked. I didn’t realize how late it had gotten.”

 “You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” Tiz says simply. He brings a hand up to rest on her head. Patting her gently, he continues, “I figured after seeing Alternis the other day that you’d be wanting a reminder of you-know-who.”

 That is what it’s come down to: calling _him_ “you-know-who”. It irritates her in a way. Even though she had been the first to say it, it makes it appear as if she’s a hurt child that needs coddling.

 Edea hates being coddled. Almost as much as she hates that she can’t burn the stupid book. Hates that it’s her weakness.

 “Sometimes I wish I never met him,” Edea whispers, leaning her head against Tiz’s shoulder. He rests his cheek against her hair, rubbing his hand against her back in a reassuring gesture. She lets out a long sigh and closes her eyes. “But then I know I wouldn’t have met you or Agnés either. It just sucks. I hate feeling so empty. It’s like I have a gaping hole in my chest that I can’t do anything about.”

 Tiz lets her talk, not interrupting her as she lays out her emotions raw – all for him to see. He’s silent throughout the entire confession, and she hates and loves that about him. He’s such a great friend, and Edea is glad he’s back. Losing one person was enough, but losing two was horrendous.

 When she’s finished, Edea can’t seem to keep her eyes open. Tiz’s hand has stopped rubbing her back, instead resting around her shoulders to keep her from toppling over.

 “Thank you,” she says. “For listening. For being you.”

 “Always,” he replies, chuckling as he picks her up. Normally, Edea would be mortified, but she’s too tired to care. She leans into him, and for a moment, she remembers someone doing this for her as well.

_‘I’m glad you’re half gone because it would be a shame to get another bruise on this gorgeous face of mine.’_

 Even though talking to Tiz helped, the wound is still there. It’s a gaping chasm in her chest. When she feels the covers being pulled over her, she bites her bottom lip. She doesn’t want to cry anymore. She doesn’t even want to _feel_ anymore.

 All she can see as she drifts off to sleep is Ringabel turning his back to her and walking away.


End file.
